Topic: Mayor Ed Murray

Calling capital punishment costly and ineffective, Mayor Ed Murray, all nine Seattle City Council members and City Attorney Pete Holmes have signed a letter urging the Seattle delegation to the state Legislature to pursue “safe and just alternatives” to the death penalty. “There is no credible evidence showing that the death penalty deters homicide or makes…

Mayor Ed Murray vowed Tuesday to address Seattle’s housing affordability crisis the same way he handled the debate earlier this year over raising the city’s minimum wage: by seeking recommendations from an advisory committee. The 28-member Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory Committee, established by a City Council resolution that Murray signed Tuesday, will be co-chaired by Faith Li…

Now that Seattle has “captured the nation’s attention” by passing a series of high-profile laws to protect workers and increase their pay, it must make sure that businesses understand and follow the new rules, Mayor Ed Murray said Monday as he proposed creating an Office of Labor Standards. The office would carry out education and enforcement duties related…

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole today announced her first major appointment to her top staff. In a posting on a department website, O’Toole wrote: “I am pleased to announce that I have added Mike Wagers to my staff as SPD’s Chief Operating Officer. Mike will oversee the Patrol Support Bureau, Administrative Services, Information Technology, Human Resources and…

Former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell died Sunday morning at Swedish hospital. Schell, who served as mayor from 1998 to 2002 was remembered as a “great city builder” by Mayor Ed Murray, whose office announced the death. Schell was 76.

Schell’s rocky term as mayor was marked by public-safety and political crises including the chaotic 1999 WTO protests and 2001 Mardi Gras riot — events that doomed his reelection bid.

But civic leaders praised Schell as a visionary civic leader who left a lasting imprint on Seattle, starting decades before his election as mayor.

“As a citizen activist, lawyer, director of community development, port commissioner, dean of architecture and mayor he directly shaped the civic infrastructure of Seattle for more than 40 years,” Murray said in a news release.

As mayor, Schell led a successful $196 million Libraries for All bond campaign that funded a new downtown library and rebuilt many neighborhood branch libraries. He also championed a $198 million levy for parks and the zoo, and a $72 million effort that mingled public and private dollars to renovate the Seattle Center Opera House and community centers.

“He had a vision for the city that got articulated in bricks and mortar,” friend and former Mayor Charles Royer said in an interview. “I think if it were not for a couple of those bumps, he would have been been regarded as much more effective than he was given credit for. And he is, in my book, one of the most productive mayors we’ve ever had.”

But Schell’s only term was marred by a string of bad news. The 1999 WTO ministerial conference, which Schell had sought for the city, turned into a fiasco of tear gas, property damage and mass arrests. Two years later, during Mardi Gras, a young man was beaten to death in Pioneer Square while police remained on the sidelines of the unruly crowds. As if that weren’t enough, Boeing announced its corporate headquarters would move to Chicago.

By the time Schell ran for reelection, voters were fed up. He placed third in the 2001 primary, behind then-City Attorney Mark Sidran and then-King County Councilman Greg Nickels, who went on to win the general election.

The Seattle City Council is expected to vote Monday to repeal its ride-service ordinance passed earlier this year that put a cap on the number of cars accessible via smartphone apps at any one time. The following week, the council will consider a proposed compromise developed by Mayor Ed Murray and a group of rideshare companies, taxi companies…

Today was Mayor Ed Murray’s self-imposed deadline to negotiate a regulatory compromise between the city of Seattle and companies providing illegal ride-services uberX, Lyft, and Sidecar. But mayor’s spokesman Jeff Reading says Murray is going to spend another week discussing city regulations that were initially set to go into effect in mid-April. According to…

Seattle’s first 500 floating-rental bicycles will bear the name of Alaska Airlines, which announced today it will give $2.5 million to Puget Sound Bike Share. The bikes will be painted green and blue, like the colors of Sounders FC. They will be available at up to 50 stations in the University District, Capitol Hill, Eastlake,…

About The Today File

The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.